A “Turn-Over Shawl” is A shawl that when folded in a triangle, shows all four finished borders. This is done by attaching 2 borders on the right side and 2 on the wrong side.

The three-quarter back view shows the Vs of the two border pairs. These are set on opposite sides so when folded over, both sets of borders form their Vs. You can see the “right side” construction of the top V in one of the photos. This shawl is made with a center piece of black wool, 4 paisley type borders and black wool borders that are frayed. The right and wrong sides of the paisley type borders can be seen in the other two photos. A border such as this one could have been purchased at the time.

There is another one over on Etsy as well. This shawl is 58″ square, within the common size perimeters for the mid-century. Again we can see the borders set in pairs on opposite sides so they will make Vs when the shawl is folded. While this border is narrower than the Ebay shawl’s, the way it is folded and photographed really shows how dramatic and lovely the look can be. The seller includes a teaser photo of one corner showing the right and wrong sides of the border. The color thread clearly shows the construction details. (btw – Please do not dry clean an antique shawl as the seller suggest.)

I believe Genteel Arts just did a workshop on making a turn-over shawl.